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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. field — for sport
  8. hand — help
  9. race — humankind
  10. field — farmland
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. roll — a list
  14. rest — what's left
  15. race — a contest
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bear — the animal
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. race — the arms race
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a cake
  23. rest — a break
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com